Halliburton's fortunes doubled with war
/Halliburton Co., the company Vice President Dick Cheney headed for five years, vaulted into the top 100 defense contractors when the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, according to a new analysis by a public interest group. Halliburton "was not even on the list" until 2003 when it won $4.3 billion in defense contracts, including a no-bid contract for oil services in Iraq, according to the Center for Public Integrity in Washington. In 2003, it landed at No. 14. Until 2003, Halliburton and its subsidiaries Brown & Root Services and Kellogg Brown & Root never won contracts totaling more than $658 million a year. In the five years leading up to 2003, the company's total contracts amounted to only $2.45 billion. Cheney ran Halliburton as chief executive officer from 1995 to 2000, when he resigned to run for vice president. [more ]